K-pop acts at 'live' gig every day

K-pop hologram concert theatre to open at Resorts World Sentosa will create real-life gig experience using virtual 3-D images

Starting this month, Korean pop fans can catch some of their favourite acts at a live concert - every day.

K-live Sentosa, a K-pop hologram concert theatre, will open at Resorts World Sentosa on Feb 23.

A real-life concert experience is created for fans with strobing lights and pulsating music, except the K-pop idols on stage are virtual 3-D images of themselves.

The attraction will kick off with girl group Wonder Girls and boybands 2PM and GOT7. Fans of other K-pop stars need not fret - the concert content will be refreshed every six months.

GOT7 will be in Singapore - in the flesh - for the launch of K-live Sentosa. They will also attend a fan meeting. More details will be released at a later date.

Tickets for a 40-minute K-pop hologram concert cost $19 for children younger than 12, $39 for adults, $19 for senior citizens 60 and older and $32 for students aged 13 to 19.

More details of K-live Sentosa will be revealed at a later date. Check out K-live Sentosa Facebook page for updates and ticket sales.

K-live is an attraction in Seoul and its Sentosa outpost is the first outside of South Korea.

At K-live in Korea, fans can take an elevator ride with their K-pop idols. Using augmented reality (AR) technology, fans will be projected onto a screen together with their idols in a lift setting.

Hologram concert venues have mushroomed all over South Korea, such as at TV station MBC's theme park MBC World. Located at the MBC headquarters in Seoul, it is a haven for K-pop fans.

Fans can get printouts of posed shots with K-pop acts such as livewire crooner Psy, boyband BigBang and girl group 2NE1.

The result is a fairly convincing photo that, at first glance, might fool envious fellow fans.

Fans can take photos with life-sized versions of their idols in a variety of poses. For example, they can stand next to rapper T.O.P as he presents them with a bouquet of roses or be part of girl group 2NE1.

Reality is blurred further at another station.

Fuelling fan girls' fantasy in a booth, a fan seated on a red couch will see herself interacting with rapper G-Dragon on-screen. The virtual G-Dragon teases the fan and even puts his head on her lap.

It may all be a virtual dream for brief seconds, but devoted fans will surely be dreaming about the moment for nights.

Still, some fans prefer the real deal. Broadcast producer Izzah Imran, 27, attended a GOT7 fan meet in December.

She says: "I prefer watching real people perform. Besides, K-pop acts come to Singapore quite often. So there is not much of an incentive to pay for a hologram concert.

"But I might change my mind if K-live brings in the photo booths and I can get a photo opportunity with the K-pop stars."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 01, 2016, with the headline K-pop acts at 'live' gig every day. Subscribe